Bluetooth pairing between iPhone and Mac Mini M1 "not supported"

Idris: thanks and you may be right. However, it does not still feel right to have this very basic piece, which we expect and its missing. Its probably a tech glitch (not supported?!?!) that Apple can likely resolve with a patch quickly.

Yes, i understand that we are a U2U group but was just voicing an opinion out of frustration because the ‘support’ was returning with ‘sorry cannot support you’ answer repeatedly’ … which is also strange.

Hi, this discussion does seem endless but I have seen nothing that contradicts what I earlier read and what seems to be the case. There is simply no need to pair these devices any longer. You are as far as I understand it supposed to use airdrop to handle moving things from one to the other. Possibly incorrect but I understand that this service actually uses BT at least to initially link or ID each device but uses Wi-Fi ti actually transfer things. It is for sure a total crock of $&#t that Apple can not seem to bother to actually explain this clearly and that when you try to actually PAIR the devices as you would have done in the past quite easily it looks like it works and then it fails and worse advises a totally useless reason for the failure and offers no help.

If anyone ever does get this figured out I would be grateful for the update. Good luck.

I would agree with your comments about pairing, except, in my case, Airdrop won't work. I can however, use my iPhone as a hotspot, which some others can't do.

I think we all agree that this is simply not good enough - these are all basic technologies which we enjoyed and did not expect to lose when we upgraded to the latest hardware/software.

I don't care about pairing or how it is meant to work - BUT I do need my laptop and phone to work together, somehow, so I can share information as easily as I used to between them, before upgrading.

That is not a big ask and it is definitely causing a lot of concern for people, as it seems quite indiscriminate and random as to how and when it works.

I have emailed apple directly and I think we all need to do that as this problem definitely exists for many people and no-one has come up with a bullet proof fix as yet.

Cheers

I agree mostly to what you say Bob. And to close the discussion thread from my side, last comment:

my or any mac users concern would be that today it’s about macbook air 2020 model and iphone BT glitch, which we are left to discover for our ourselves. tomorrow it may turn out to be BT connectivity to some other device which Apple buyer pay a great premium for ?? It’s about Apple’s accountability to all of us if any.

amitabhs wrote:

Idris: thanks and you may be right. However, it does not still feel right to have this very basic piece, which we expect and its missing.

Honestly, it probably isn't something most people think about unless they came from the Android world. I have never, in all the years I've owned an iPhone felt any need to pair it to a computer using Bluetooth.

Omg guys why it is still happening?

updated both ios and macos

ios 15.4

macos monterey 12.3

i can't connect my iphone 12 mini to macbook pro M1 2020 :/ this is the main feature what i use and i can't exist without :/ any ideas how to resolve?

I had issue preventing BT connect between IOS and MacOS device, plus no AIRdrop.

I solved my Airdrop issue by turning my VPN (ExpressVPN) off then Airdrop worked.

BT not staying connected is still an issue.

Same and it is ticking me off! Why won’t they fix this! These were my favorite features and have been for years! It is annoying to be unable to send text messages or pair my phone with my MacBook while when my phone rings it rings on my MacBook interrupting my work to remind me of this insufferable problem with Bluetooth pairing my Apple devices!

Not fixed with latest updates in my case. New iPhone (13 Mini) with latest iOS (15.4.1), M1 Mini with latest MacOS (12.2.1), same problem as always: connects for a second and disconnects; iPhone says the Mac is "not supported".

WTH, Apple?

For what it's worth folks - I've been consistently successful so far with the workaround I mentioned about a month ago:

Turn on Bluetooth on iPhone

Initiate a connection by transferring a single image from the Mac to the iPhone.

(Right-click on image, select Share, then AirDrop, then the name of the iPhone)

Next, AirDrop any images you like from the iPhone to the Mac.

Turn off Bluetooth on the iPhone

I have also done tests to be sure the "right way" is still broken by simply attempting to initiate a transfer from the iPhone to the Mac. So far, these attempts still fail. On top of that, I am not able to use the workaround described above for about two days after the failure.

You’d think that Apple would work out these bugs by performing thorough Employee testing before rolling out their updates to the public at large. If Apple had a solid competitor they’d be far less flippant about the issues they cause their Customer’s, and more proactive about monitoring sites like their own community forum to help field any residual issues their Customer’s are having.

Most software companies charge far less for their products, and supply substantially more support to their Customer’s.

Sometimes, too, the arrogance that gets tossed around from user’s “in the know” in response to user’s experiencing issues is exceedingly off putting. Doubt there are many, if any, individual’s here combing the site for possible solutions - Apple Forum Land is generally a last ditch effort, post lengthy searches & internet combing…then here to receive an haughty response that’s belittling & isn’t at all helpful.

I’ve spent the past 45 minutes trying to connect my iPhone 13 to my Mac Mini via Bluetooth - like the rest of you guys & gals on this thread - and reading through some of the responses here & on related threads, and I’m disgusted. First with Apple for jacking their Customer’s by omitting charging port & connection cord with the iPhone 13 - for $1500 all essential components should be included.

But because they aren’t & because my usb to what the helleber cord hasn’t yet arrived - it’s WiFi or Bluetooth…and if you’re not blasting yourself with WiFi & prefer Bluetooth instead…a person finds themselves an hour later, more frustrated than they should be, with the doc still unprinted, and Apple oblivious to the conundrum bs they put their Customer’s through.

Apple’s indifference to their Customer’s is flat out deplorable.

Same issue. I have a Mac mini M1, and I've just moved from Android to iPhone 13. I can't understand WHY my new iPhone cannot be connected to my Mac mini via Bluetooth. Then, what is the benefit of buying an iPhone?

AngelBH wrote:

Same issue. I have a Mac mini M1, and I've just moved from Android to iPhone 13. I can't understand WHY my new iPhone cannot be connected to my Mac mini via Bluetooth. Then, what is the benefit of buying an iPhone?

That is not and never has been a feature of the iPhone. Perhaps if you explain why you're trying to do it, someone can explain an alternate method.

While many would say there are advantages to buying an iPhone (notably better security), that doesn't mean it's the best phone for everyone.

I am having the same issue with my late-2015 iMac on Monterey 12.3.1 and my iPhone 8 on iOS 15.4.1. I cannot use Apple Pay because Bluetooth will not connect. I can "Forget this device", reconnect to the iPhone from my iMac and then the Bluetooth connection immediate goes to "Not Connected". If I try to connect from my iPhone, I get Connection Unsuccessful, "NameofmyiMac" is not supported.

BT is how the iMac is supposed to link to the iPhone so one is prompted for one's fingerprint on the iPhone to authorize the Apple Pay transaction on websites supporting Apple Pay that one has navigated to on one's iMac.